Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026
See what actually lands in your account after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state tax and your own benefit deductions.
How this is calculated
Your employer does not settle your tax bill once a year. It withholds from every paycheck using the percentage method the IRS publishes in Publication 15-T, and this calculator runs the same steps in the same order.
Gross pay for the period is worked out first. Pre-tax deductions come off next, and this is where most free calculators go wrong: a traditional 401(k) contribution reduces the wages your income tax is figured on, but it does not reduce the wages Social Security and Medicare are figured on. A health premium, HSA or FSA contribution reduces both, because those sit inside a Section 125 cafeteria plan.
What remains is annualised, reduced by the standard deduction for your filing status, and run through the federal bracket table. Dependent credits are subtracted, then the result is divided back down to your pay period and any extra W-4 withholding is added. State tax is calculated separately on its own base with its own deduction and brackets. Post-tax items such as Roth 401(k) and garnishments come off last, and what is left is your net pay.
Take-home pay, gross pay and taxable pay are three different numbers
Gross pay is what your offer letter says. Taxable pay is gross minus pre-tax deductions, and there are two versions of it: one for income tax and one for FICA. Take-home pay is what is left after every tax and deduction. The gap between the first and the last is 20% to 35% for most US employees.
Because the two taxable bases differ, the same $500 a period can cost you very different amounts. Put it in a traditional 401(k) and it escapes income tax but still pays 7.65% in FICA. Put it in an HSA and it escapes both. That difference is visible in the breakdown above as soon as you enter a figure.
What moves your take-home pay the most
Filing status is the single biggest lever, because it sets both the standard deduction and the bracket widths. Moving from single to married filing jointly roughly doubles both. Dependents are next: each child under 17 cuts annual withholding by $2,000 and each other dependent by $500.
After that comes geography. A $100,000 salary keeps about $4,000 more a year in Texas than in California, and about $9,000 more than a New York City resident once the city tax is counted. Use the state comparison row under the calculator to see the difference on your own numbers.
If your take-home looks wrong
Compare this estimate against your pay stub line by line rather than in total. The usual culprits are a benefit election you forgot, a year-to-date Social Security cap that has already been reached, imputed income such as group life over $50,000, or a W-4 filed with the wrong filing status. If the federal line is the one that is off, read the W-4 walkthrough.
2026 tax rates used on this page
| Item | Rate | Limit or threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security (OASDI) | 6.2% | First $184,500 of wages, maximum $11,439 |
| Medicare | 1.45% | No cap |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% | Wages above $200,000 single, $250,000 joint, $125,000 separate |
| Federal income tax | 10% to 37% | Seven brackets, after the standard deduction |
| Standard deduction | — | $16,100 single, $32,200 joint, $24,150 head of household |
| Federal supplemental rate | 22% | Applied to bonuses under the flat method |
| Dependent credits | — | $2,000 per child under 17, $500 per other dependent |
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the Social Security Administration 2026 announcement. Verified 17 September 2026.
2026 federal brackets
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 | $0 to $24,800 |
| 12% | $12,400 to $50,400 | $24,800 to $100,800 |
| 22% | $50,400 to $105,700 | $100,800 to $211,400 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,775 | $211,400 to $403,550 |
| 32% | $201,775 to $256,225 | $403,550 to $512,450 |
| 35% | $256,225 to $640,600 | $512,450 to $768,700 |
| 37% | $640,600 and above | $768,700 and above |
Frequently asked questions
What is take-home pay?
Take-home pay, also called net pay, is the amount deposited in your account after every deduction: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, any state and local income tax, state insurance withholding, and your own pre-tax and post-tax deductions. It is the only figure that matters for budgeting.
What percentage of my paycheck do I take home?
Most US employees keep between 65% and 80% of gross pay. FICA alone takes 7.65% of nearly all wages. Federal income tax typically runs 8% to 18% at middle incomes, and state tax adds zero to about 10%. Benefit deductions come out of the same paycheck and can add several points more.
How do I increase my take-home pay?
Three levers work. File a correct W-4, since over-withholding is an interest-free loan to the government. Move dollars into an HSA where they escape both income tax and FICA. Review benefit elections you no longer use. Reducing a traditional 401(k) contribution raises take-home pay but costs you the match and the tax deferral.
Does this include my employer taxes?
No, and it should not. Your employer pays a matching 6.2% Social Security, 1.45% Medicare, and federal and state unemployment tax on your wages. None of that is withheld from your paycheck, so none of it appears in your net pay calculation.
Why is my first paycheck smaller than this estimate?
A first check often covers a partial pay period, and benefit deductions are sometimes doubled up to catch a missed period. Withholding on a partial period is also annualised from a smaller amount, which can make the rate look odd. By your second or third full period the figures should match.
Is take-home pay the same as disposable income?
Not quite. Take-home pay is gross minus all deductions. Disposable income, in the legal sense used for wage garnishment, is gross minus only the deductions required by law, which excludes voluntary items such as a 401(k) contribution.
Related calculators
These figures are estimates for informational purposes and are not tax advice. Actual withholding depends on your employer’s payroll system, your year-to-date wages and your specific W-4. Federal rates come from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the SSA 2026 announcement; state rates come from each state’s own withholding guide, with the source and verification date published on every state page. Read the methodology, or see who maintains this data.